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For the second straight year, Syracuse matched up with Yale in the NCAA Tournament. Though the situation was flipped entirely this time around.

Last year, No. 3 seed SU faced No. 6 seed Yale, downing the Bulldogs 19-9 to smoothly advance to its second consecutive Final Four. But in 2025, the Orange entered as the underdogs. Syracuse was unseeded for the first time in seven years, while Yale earned the bracket’s No. 7 seed after winning the Ivy League Tournament. It’d already defeated SU 13-10 earlier in the season.

That’s not to say Syracuse didn’t enter with momentum. On Friday, it easily dismantled Brown 15-9 in the first round to advance to Sunday. The Orange’s offense easily dissected a middling Bears defense, with Emma Ward pouring in six points and Emma Muchnick adding three goals.

However, Syracuse’s dominance proved to be a flash in the pan. SU’s momentum evaporated, helping Yale defeat it 9-8 Sunday and ending its season. The tournament exit marked the Orange’s earliest since 2018, when it fell in the first round to Princeton.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (10-9, 5-4 Atlantic Coast) season-ending loss to Yale (16-3, 5-2 Ivy League):

Yale solves SU’s zone

Yale’s offense is led by four players — Fallon Vaughn, Jenna Collignon, Taylor Lane and Sky Carrasquillo. All four entered with at least 35 goals and three had over 55 draw controls. After them, no one else had more than 10 scores or seven draw wins.

The multiple outlets allowed the Bulldogs to enter Sunday with a plus-98 scoring margin. And with SU’s defense depleted due to Lexi Reber and Julia Basciano’s injuries, it didn’t have the depth to cover all four. After the quartet scored all 13 goals against the Orange in April, they scored all nine to barely squeak past Syracuse Sunday.

SU employed a zone defense, stuffing Yale’s attack for the game’s first nine minutes, with Guyette stifling three shots. But Yale briefly heated up. Lane converted a free position. Then Vaughn drilled a behind-the-back strike to make it 2-0. Lane tallied her third of five points by assisting Carrasquillo to cap Yale’s 3-0 run.

But in the second quarter, it cooled down. Yale didn’t score until 1:49 to play in the frame and only scored one goal between the end of the first quarter and 3:12 of the third. Syracuse forced an uncharacteristic six first-half Bulldog turnovers to push SU ahead 5-4 at the break.

The Orange’s unit leaked in the third quarter, though, allowing a 3-0 run to equalize the game 7-7. Then, Collignon — who’d been held scoreless until that point — took over, scoring three goals in the second half to give Yale its first lead since the early second quarter and pull out the win.

Volpe’s first-half heroics

Ashlee Volpe had a career day against Yale in April, scoring four goals despite SU’s loss. Against the Bulldogs on Sunday, she impressed again.

With SU down 3-0, someone needed to pick it up. The Orange had only shot twice and weren’t getting many possessions due to their draw struggles. Volpe assumed that role. First, off a feed from Muchnick, she scored with one minute left in the opening quarter for Syracuse’s first goal of the game. Then, she fired home another from the left side of the crease to make it 3-2 entering the second.

With the Orange’s zone defense stifling Yale’s attack, their offense was given more time to shine. And again, it ran through Volpe. She received plenty of space with a tight angle on the right side of the net, drilling a shot past Niamh Pfaff in net to cap a 4-0 run with a hat trick. But she wasn’t done. After having a goal removed from the board due to a crease violation, Volpe converted a twisting shot on a fast break to push SU to a 5-3 advantage.

Volpe quieted down after her fourth snipe, being guarded more closely after her first-half burst. The extra attention allowed the Bulldogs to creep back in the game and complete a comeback victory.

Guyette’s revival

Daniella Guyette had hit a roadblock in net entering Sunday. She’d recorded a sub-.200 save percentage in her last three games, including going the entire first half without recording a save versus Brown. Though it didn’t affect the result, Guyette would need to step up to have a chance to beat Yale.

She saw immediate improvement Sunday. The Bulldogs got the first possession, with Vaughn and Carrasquillo firing two strong shots at the net. But SU’s goalie stuffed both attempts, sending the ball the other way. She finished the first quarter allowing just three goals on seven shots while recording three saves.

Though Guyette slipped briefly midway through the first, she re-established herself in the second. Lane was given a free position from the top of the key. But Guyette got low to scoop the ball off the turf. She stalled two more shots — including an Ashley Newman attempt from point-blank range — in the second to enter halftime with six stops and a .600 save percentage.

Guyette was shakier in the second half. She started by reaching high to snag a Carrasquillo shot from just left of the crease before kick-saving a low line drive from Lane. But she allowed three quick goals to end the quarter, tying the game 7-7. Though the Bulldogs did just enough to win, Guyette finished with 11 saves and a .550 save percentage.

Draw swings

Syracuse’s draw unit has see-sawed this season. To start, new draw control specialist Meghan Rode was shaky. But then, Joely Caramelli emerged to briefly revive the unit. It’s been a mixed bag since.

Recently, Rode has started to peak again. She helped SU win the draw battle 18-10 against Stanford and 15-11 over Brown. Versus Yale, which boasted the 11th-best draw percentage in the country (.589), she took a step forward at the best possible time. On the opening draw, she was called for a foul against Collignon, starting the day poorly. She then lost the next two to let the Bulldogs push on offense.

But from there, Rode improved, helping Syracuse win five of the next six draws to propel a 4-0 run and take its first lead of the game, 4-3. At half, SU led 6-5 in the circle. Despite Yale’s struggles, Collignon remained on the draw. But Rode had seemed to figure her out, winning the first two draws of the third quarter. Her success directly spurred two straight goals to put the Orange up 7-4.

The Bulldogs finally made a change by inserting Carrasquillo in the circle, which paid off immediately with two consecutive wins. The two squads battled back and forth after the switch, helping Yale climb back from a three-goal deficit. The Bulldogs finished the game leading 11-10 despite SU having the upper hand early.

Published on May 11, 2025 at 5:01 pm
Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu | @ Noahnuss99